We were told it would take about 45 minutes, so we decided to pick up Nana and head to McDonald’s for a quick snack. Nicholas had his first juice box. You may wonder why I am stating this fact. Many post-institutionalized children have problems with their sucking mechanisms. They are given fast-flow bottles as babies and then drink out of normal cups once they are off the bottle. It took us a few days after we arrived home before we could get Nicholas to drink out of a sippy cup (our carpet thanks us!). So, for Nicholas to drink from a straw today was also quite an accomplishment.
I don’t know why I listen to people when they tell you what time to come back. It always takes longer. Sometimes I wish I was a late person (not really) so I wouldn’t have to wait so much. But, Nicholas did well in the waiting room for the first 15 minutes, but we were informed it would be another 10-15, so they suggested that we walk the long hallway. I didn’t think we were that noisy, but maybe they wanted to prevent any potential future meltdowns. So, Nicholas and I walked the hallway. We tried out the water fountain. Nicholas dragged my purse down the hall. And, finally they called us in to see the patient.
Evan is on very light duty today. He is stuck on the couch and only allowed to sleep, read or watch television. It was hard to explain to Nicholas why Daddy couldn’t play. But, now they are both sleeping, so I’m on break. I wonder how long that will last?!?
I want to close by sharing a couple of sweet stories about Nicholas. Evan and I have always loved Nicholas. That hasn’t been a problem. But, once we brought him home there was the jet lag and the boundary testing. Things have just been hard. However, I am trying to treasure the sweet times we have together. For instance, Nicholas has three boo-boos from his vaccinations from Wednesday. He was constantly pointing to them and wanting us to kiss him. And, we love to make him feel better. Well, Evan was taking something out to the garage the other day and our cat, Gabby was trying to run out the door. I tried to shoo her away, but somehow her back claw connected with my finger and now I had a boo-boo too. Nicholas saw it happen and was instantly concerned about my boo-boo. After he inspected my bandaged finger, he began to kiss it. Then he looked at Gabby and said something to her. I could tell he was angry. He kept kissing my finger and yelling angrily at Gabby. My heart just swelled with love for him.
And, speaking of cats, yesterday Isabella (our extremely shy and scared cat) let Nicholas kiss and pet her. If I wasn’t in shock when it happened, I would have grabbed my camera. These weren’t just plain, old kisses, but kisses on the mouth. I think the cat has lost her mind. Either that or she’s given up. It was nice to see Nicholas treating the cats better. He wasn’t quite sure what petting them gently meant. Even Gabby seems to like him better now that the block incident is a distant memory.
Each day, Nicholas impresses us more and more. However, we do have a prayer request. He has the most trouble letting himself fall asleep. We’ve tried everything, but it is really hard to stand over his crib for forty five minutes every naptime and every evening. We want to find a balance of helping to comfort him and letting him learn to fall asleep on his own. I guess we just want to pray that he would learn that he can fall asleep and his mom and dad will still be here when he wakes up.
We've seen a lot of progress already in so many areas. We know that there will be plenty of phases that Nicholas will go through. I am really learning that patience, grace, and mercy are the keys. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think my patient has to take some meds.
Kristin
1 comment:
Interesting observation you made.....by falling asleep he wants to make sure you'll stil be there when he wakes up. Oh, to delve into a 2 year olds' mind!
Carolyn
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